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About the MPRA
The Manitou Property Rights Association is a group of local residents dedicated to
preserving property rights in Manitou Historic District. We feel the most recent version
of the Historic Preservation Regulations (see below) has diminished our right to enjoy
our property to its fullest. These pages document why we feel this way.
To see and read the full text of the final ballot language click here.
HP Ordinance Sections
Use the links below to go to any section of the Historic Preservation
Regulations.
17.04.010 Short Title.
17.04.020 Introduction and Purpose
17.04.030 Definitions.
17.04.040 Designation of Historic Districts.
17.04.050 Material Change of Appearance Certification.
17.04.060 Incentive Awards.
17.04.070 Maintenance of Structures.
17.04.080 Demolition of Structures.
17.04.090 Economic Hardship.
17.04.100 Appeals.
17.04.110 Enforcement and Penalties.
17.04.120 Withdrawal Provisions.
17.04.130 Severability.
Contact Us
Please send us an email using the link below if you are
interested in the Manitou Property Rights Association activities.
mpra@manitousprings.com
A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own
which he is entitled to follow can have no respect for the dignity of the individual
and cannot really know freedom. -F.A Hayek
The personal right to aquire property, which is a natural right, gives to property when acquired,
a right to protection. -James Madison
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The Story
 Jan 16, 2003 - Manitou Voters reject opt-out restoration by a vote of 950 to 644. Many of the votes came from citizens who are not
affected by historic district regulations - who live outside the
district. We have serious democratic reservations about citizens who
are not subject to historic regulations voting on issues that affect
those who are subject to those regulations. And we are troubled that
so many people are willing to vote away property rights. Read the
final ballot on which citizens voted (link at left). Are you
troubled too?
December 28, 2002 - Why should we restore the opt out? There are lots of reasons actually as we discuss below.
Click Here for 7 more reasons we should restore
the Opt-Out.
December 18, 2002 - The mail-in ballots to restore the opt-out to our district
are going out to voters on December 26, 2002. They must be returned by
January 14, 2003 to be counted. Please take a moment to vote and return
your ballot.
Click HERE to see our final postcard reminder. You need to vote
"For The Ordinance" (our ordinance) if you wish to restore the Opt-out clause in the
HPC regulations. Let's return Manitou to the path of liberty and natural rights our country's
founders felt we were born to enjoy. Let's remind our local government to focus on public
infrastructure repair, not aesthic control of private property.
October 30, 2002 - "Manitou Springs Citizens Roundtable" formed to discuss local issues.
Thanks go to David Beers of Manitou for creating an online forum in which you can express your opinions about historic
preservation and other issues affecting Manitou. If you're interested in subscribing to the forum, just send an
email to manitousprings-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Or you may browse to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/manitousprings
(the MSCR home page) and subscribe from there as well as view postings to date. Many good postings have been made so far concerning
the historic preservation ordinance from both sides of the issue.
Oct 3, 2002 - Council sets the date for the special election - Tuesday, January 14, 2003. It's a mail-in ballot.
We were at the special Council meeting tonight. Fortunately we were present as we had to remind Council to
retain our "Where As" clauses in our petition. Click here
to see the ballot language as it will appear for our proposed ordinance. You must vote "FOR THE ORDINANCE" if you
agree to restore the opt-out clause in the Historic Ordinance. Note that this will be a mail-in ballot and it will be sent to you by the
city so you will have time to read and consider it before you vote.
September 17, 2002 - It goes to a vote of the people!
At a well-attended council meeting tonight, the council, after
hearing testimony from both supporters and opponents, agreed to let our proposed ordinance changes go to a vote of the
public. We know that the supporters of coercive historic regulations have mobilized their group and will be out to vote in force. Since we
are starting with a vote deficit it will be extremely important for you to get out and vote on the issue if you agree with our position.
Likely, this will be the last best chance to preserve property rights and encourage the HPC to review the approach they are
taking with property owners. Stay tuned to this page for more information.
September 6, 2002 - We have enough signatures and they have been approved by the city clerk!
The Manitou city council will discuss this issue at the September 17 council meeting starting at 7:00 at city hall.
We received the final approval of our signatures. The clerk counted a total of 452 signatures in our 14 petitions. Of those, 387 were
verified as registered voters because they matched the county clerk's voter list. We needed to get 271 signatures, so we were well over
our target. Thanks to everyone who signed. Come on down to the meeting on September 17. Council can either pass the initiative or
put it up for a vote. We don't know what will happen yet.
August 8, 2002 - We are closing in on our signatures!
We are close to having the required signatures for our ballot issue and will be out this weekend gathering as many
as we can. Apparently the State of Colorado must have all Nov 5 election ballot material by August 5 so we won't be on
the general ballot, but may end up with a special ballot for the Nov 5 election or a special election at another date,
depending on what city council decides to do.
July 25, 2002 - We are circulating a new brochure in addition to our flyer. The brochure discusses the history
of the historic district and addresses more issues and unintended consequences caused by the latest preservation ordinance.
Click here to read page 1 of the brochure.
Click here to read page 2 of the brochure.
July 23, 2002 - We are over 1/3 of the way toward getting the 300 signatures we need. We did this in just a few days
of walking the neighborhoods. We have 3 downtown locations where you can sign the petition if you would like. They are: (1) the
barber shop on Canon Ave. open Wednesday through Saturday, (2) Manitou Natural near the Tubby's turnaround stoplight at the
west end of town - open 7 days a week, and (3) at Manitou Springs Real Estate at 1031 Manitou Ave. - open during the workweek. Please
get out and sign our petition! To see and read the full text of the petition click here.
July 16, 2002 - Petition format approved! We now have approval from the city clerk and will start
getting signatures immediately. If you want to make sure you sign the petition, plase call 291-2728 (cell phone) and we'll
come to your house to get the signature. Leave a message if no one answers with your name, address, and a good time to
visit.
July 7, 2002 - Read our flyer to find out more about the difficulty the recently changed historic ordinance
brings to individuals who own property in the district. This is the MPRA's first flyer discussing the new HPC changes.
Click here to see the flyer. The flyer and the citizens
initiative are supported by a former Manitou Mayor who was mayor when the first historic ordinance was passed,
a former council member, two local architects, a local builder, and a local Real Estate company as well as citizens who live in
historic houses.
July 7, 2002 - First Draft of citizens initiative petition submitted to city clerk.
Today the MPRA submitted the first draft of the
citizens petition (click here to see it) that could give citizens the right to vote on whether inclusion of property
in the historic district will be voluntary. There are good reasons for a voluntary district. Did you know that you can
go to jail and be fined up to $1000 per day, each day you fail to fix a broken window on your house? Read our
flyer to find out more.
July 1, 2002 - Welcome to the updated home of the Manitou Property Rights
Association. We are preparing our citizen's initiative petition and expect to submit
it shortly to the city clerk for approval. We've put the entire new Historic Ordinance on this
site, with convenient links to each section. We are doing this so that we can document each of our
grievances with the current ordinance by linking to the relevant section. Check back soon.
May 29, 2002 - Free Money in Manitou?
They sent a postcard promising homeowners "free money" in Manitou. Not so fast.
Click here to find out what's up with this bizarre scheme.
May 10, 2002 - Cars and Dogs May Be Placed Under Historic District Regulations -
Are further changes to the Historic Ordinance in the works? Warning, warning, warning! Some
people are really taking offense to this article. The point of it is that if a central authority,
i.e., the HPC, can assume control of your aesthetic choices regarding your home - for the "common welfare" - why
stop there? Why not control all aesthetics? What makes houses special over other things we see? This fun
explorative article is written totally tongue-in-cheek folks! But think about my point, please!
Click here to examine the possibility.
May 7th, 2002 - The Day Personal Liberty Left Manitou -
On this day Manitou became the latest town (there are around 2500 across the country) to put
into place a no opt-out clause in the ordinance applying to the Manitou historic district.
From this point forward, anytime a house is sold in the historic district of Manitou,
which includes virtually the entire City of Manitou, the new property owner will no
longer have the option of opting his or her property out of the district. For new owners, this means
an architectural review board that may cost a lot of money, time, and aggravation trying to please.
Click here to find
out why we feel this is wrong.
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